TourismToday

The Bahamas will have to quickly adapt to the demands of the recently-tapped Latin American market in order to gain a competitive advantage over other regional destinations.

Copa Airlines executives have indicated that destinations with “stronger brand recognition,” such as Jamaica and St. Marteen, are seeking to infuse their tourism areas with Spanish-speaking individuals as they too are hoping to draw visitors from this market. Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic is also a strong competitor, the airline executives said.

They also highlighted the relatively early closing of shops and restaurants and the high cost of some items as stumbling blocks to the growth of the Latin American tourist market in The Bahamas.

Copa’s Marketing and Communications Director, Mr. Marco Ockando said “We Latins are night owls, especially the Argentineans and Brazilians. In Argentina you go and have dinner at 11pm and then you go on after that and see what you do.”

Mr. Ockando said this is not unique to The Bahamas. Many destinations throughout the Caribbean have this “sort of issue,” he said.

He said that these destinations are seen as “just resting places” but, there’s an opportunity for visitors to have a full experience with beaches for rest and nightlife for entertainment. He indicated that The Bahamas is on the right track to some degree, and mentioned that the Aura night club at Atlantis is “one of the best in the Caribbean.”

As for shopping, the Copa executive said perhaps “offering a variety of products that are not as high end” would also boost the popularity of The Bahamas among Latin Americans.

So far, The Bahamas has experienced record-breaking success with the new Panama-Nassau route. The number of Latin American visitors increased by 40 percent between May and July of this year compared to the same period in 2010.

Mr. Joe Mohan, the vice president of Commercial and Planning said, “In our entire 60-year history as a successful airline, this has to have been one of, if not, the most successful launches that we’ve ever had.”
Mr. Mohan said The Bahamas has quickly become one of the top spots among the 59 destinations in the 28 countries that Copa serves.

As we are still in the “honeymoon” period with regards to the success of this new route, Copa is now looking to see if the country’s tourism product and ability to adapt will attract repeat business.

“It’s important that we ensure sustainability,” Mr. Ockando said during a recent press trip to Panama. “Sustainability in the case of The Bahamas, means ensuring, for example, the language part.”

Mr. Ockando said the repurchase and retrial of The Bahamas product is very important – ensuring that people have a great time, recommend to others and want to come back for more.

“I think it’s going to be interesting to see the destinations in this area that better adapt themselves [and] their product to this new passenger,” he said.